scholarly journals Morphometric Analysis of Coptotermes spp. Soldier Caste (Blattodea: Rhinotermitidae) in Indonesia and Evidence of Coptotermes gestroi Extreme Head-Capsule Shapes

Insects ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 477
Author(s):  
Bramantyo Wikantyoso ◽  
Shu-Ping Tseng ◽  
Setiawan Khoirul Himmi ◽  
Sulaeman Yusuf ◽  
Tsuyoshi Yoshimura

Linear and geometric morphometrics approaches were conducted to analyze the head capsule (HC) shape of collected soldier caste specimens of Coptotermes from various locations in Indonesia. The soldiers’ morphology was observed and measured. The results of the principal component analysis of the group of all species showed two important groups of variables, i.e., the body size and setae characteristics of the pronotum and head. The multicollinearity of the morphometric variables showed the importance of body measurements as well as important alternative characteristics such as the pronotum setae (PrS) and HC setae. Four trends of HC shape were observed across the species. Interestingly, three extreme shapes were depicted by geometric morphometrics of the C. gestroi HC. The phylogenetic tree inferred from 12S and 16S mitochondrial gene fragments showed high confidence for C. gestroi populations. The lateral expansion of the posterior part of the HC across the species was in accordance with the increasing of the number of hairlike setae on the pronotum and HC. These differences among species might be associated with mandible-force-related defensive labor and sensitivity to environmental stressors.

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Sabri Embi ◽  
Zurina Shafii

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of Shariah governance and corporate governance (CG) on the risk management practices (RMPs) of local Islamic banks and foreign Islamic banks operating in Malaysia. The Shariah governance comprises the Shariah review (SR) and Shariah audit (SA) variables. The study also evaluates the level of RMPs, CG, SR, and SA between these two type of banks. With the aid of SPSS version 20, the items for RMPs, CG, SR, and SA were subjected to principal component analysis (PCA). From the PCA, one component or factor was extracted each for the CG, SR, and RMPs while another two factors were extracted for the SA. Primary data was collected using a self-administered survey questionnaire. The questionnaire covers four aspects ; CG, SR, SA, and RMPs. The data received from the 300 usable questionnaires were subjected to correlation and regression analyses as well as an independent t-test. The result of correlation analysis shows that all the four variables have large positive correlations with each other indicating a strong and significant relationship between them. From the regression analysis undertaken, CG, SR, and SA together explained 52.3 percent of the RMPs and CG emerged as the most influential variable that impacts the RMPs. The independent t-test carried out shows that there were significant differences in the CG and SA between the local and foreign Islamic banks. However, there were no significant differences between the two types of the bank in relation to SR and RMPs. The study has contributed to the body of knowledge and is beneficial to academicians, industry players, regulators, and other stakeholders.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renan Rodrigues Rocha ◽  
Rosana de Mesquita Alves ◽  
Rubens Pasa ◽  
Karine Frehner Kavalco

The Astyanax scabripinnis complex is composed of a large number of almost morphological indistinguishable species, including Astyanax paranae and Astyanax rivularis, which exist in the Paraná and São Francisco Basins, respectively, and sometimes are considered subspecies of the A. scabripinnis group or even are cited just as A. scabripinnis. The two river basins are separated by the Upper Paranaíba Arc, likely the main cause of the isolation of these species. We used geometric morphometric tools and DNA analyses of populations of both species to identify the differences between them. Geometric morphometrics separated the two species into distinct groups, whose main difference was the body depth. This is generally related to the speed of the water flow in the river basins. The maximum likelihood phylogram based on mitochondrial DNA sequences formed two main clades: one composed of the population of A. rivularis and the other, of A. paranae. In the haplotype network, the species were similarly separated into two groups from the same ancestral haplotype, with A. rivularis dispersing into two lineages in the São Francisco River Basin. The distribution of A. paranae is a consequence of a secondary dispersion event in the Paraná River Basin. It forms two lineages from a haplotype derived from the ancestor. The vicariant effect of separate basins, through the elevation of the Upper Paranaíba Arc, led to the allopatric speciation of the populations originating the present species. The results of geometric morphometrics and molecular data of the fish show the importance of this geological event in the biogeography and evolutionary history of the ichthyofauna of the region and indicate that the isolation of these species seems to be effective.


Parasite ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 25 ◽  
pp. 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dagmar Jirsová ◽  
Xuejuan Ding ◽  
Kristína Civáňová ◽  
Eliška Jirounková ◽  
Jana Ilgová ◽  
...  

Paradiplozoon hemiculteri (Ling, 1973), a member of the Diplozoidae, parasitizes the gills of Asian fish. Not only is the type material unavailable for this species, the original description was poor and somewhat conflicting, and adequate molecular data were not available. What is more, the available morphological and molecular data are inconsistent and fluctuate significantly. Here, we present a redescription of P. hemiculteri based on morphological and molecular data from new isolates collected from the type host, the sharpbelly Hemiculter leucisculus (Basilewsky, 1855), captured at the neotype locality (Shaoguan, Guangdong Province, southern China); a neotype for P. hemiculteri was designated from this collection. The length and width of the body, buccal suckers, pharynx, attachment clamps, sickle and the central hook handle were all measured and the shape of the anterior and posterior part of the median plate and anterior and posterior joining sclerites accurately documented. Phylogenetic analyses based on the sequences of the second rDNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS2) indicated that all new samples clustered together and differed clearly from sequences attributed to P. hemiculteri, which are deposited in GenBank. Our results confirm that P. hemiculteri is the only diplozoid that has demonstrably been found on the gills of H. leucisculus to date.


2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Juliano Ferrer ◽  
Laura M. Donin

ABSTRACT A new species of Ituglanis associated to the grasslands of the Pampa biome is described from the rio Uruguai basin, southern Brazil. The new species is distinguished from its congeners by the low number of ribs and by a unique color pattern composed of an outer layer with scattered round black blotches equivalent in size to the eye circumference over a reddish brown background on the lateral surface of the body. We provide the genetic sequences of the mitochondrial gene Cytochrome c Oxydase subunit I (COI) for three of the paratypes and discuss aspects about the recent discovery of the new species.


2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Vieira de Morais ◽  
Lorena Andrade Nunes ◽  
Vandira Pereira da Mata ◽  
Maria Angélica Pereira de Carvalho Costa ◽  
Geni da Silva Sodré ◽  
...  

Leaves are plant structures that express important traits of the environment where they live. Leaf description has allowed identification of plant species as well as investigation of abiotic factors effects on their development, such as gases, light, temperature, and herbivory. This study described populations of Dalbergia ecastaphyllum through leaf geometric morphometrics in Brazil. We evaluated 200 leaves from four populations. The principal component analysis (PCA) showed that the first four principal components were responsible for 97.81% of variation. The non-parametric multivariate analysis of variance (NPMANOVA) indicated significant difference between samples (p = 0.0001). The Mentel test showed no correlation between geographical distances and shape. The canonical variate analysis (CVA) indicated that the first two variables were responsible for 96.77 % of total variation, while the cross-validation test showed an average of 83.33%. D. ecastaphyllum leaves are elliptical and ovate.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-70
Author(s):  
Thorvaldur Gunnlaugsson

The exponent for predicting total body mass from length has been studied in many species and here data on common minke whales from areas in the North Atlantic is added from both Icelandic and Norwegian research catches. The exponent was found to be not significantly different from 3. In addition seasonal changes in body mass and in the parts of blubber, muscle and visceral fat are reported. The exponent for how blubber mass increases with length is lower than 3. In all cases a significant increase over the season was detected, in particular for the mature animals, and also in girth measurements, particularly at the posterior part of the body. Pregnant females had significantly more blubber than other whales. These results agree with studies on blubber thickness measurements and tissue energy content of Icelandic baleen whales and observed changes in the ecosystem around Iceland during the research period.


1923 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 327-333 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. R. Moore

1. By the use of preparations of earthworm in which the cutaneous receptors have been anesthetized with a solution of M/8 MgCl2, it is shown that peristalsis can be initiated by tension alone. 2. The receptors of the tension reflex are the intermyal sensory cells of the ventral region of the body wall. 3. It is concluded that Straub obtained the tension reflex because his preparations contained the intermyal receptors; Budington was unable to observe the tension reflex in any preparation from which the intermyal receptors had been removed. 4. Intermyal receptors are the receptors of the following reaction: Passive unilateral tension of the posterior part of an earthworm induces active homolateral tension of the musculature of the anterior segments, and results in the course of progress being brought into line with the enforced orientation of the tail. This reaction is termed the homostrophic reflex. 5. The receptors for the reaction are distributed throughout the entire length of the worm, the effectors are limited to the anterior 15 to 20 segments. The impulse is conducted by the ventral nerve cord. 6. The interaction of the homostrophic reflex and tropisms is considered.


Zootaxa ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 4949 (2) ◽  
pp. 261-288
Author(s):  
L. LEE GRISMER ◽  
PETER GEISSLER ◽  
THY NEANG ◽  
TIMO HARTMANN ◽  
PHILIPP WAGNER ◽  
...  

The integrated results of maximum likelihood (ML) and Bayesian inference (BI) analyses, principal component analyses (PCA), and a multiple factor analysis (MFA) recover a new, widely allopatric species of the Cyrtodactylus intermedius species group. Cyrtodactylus kulenensis sp. nov is endemic to the Phnom Kulen sandstone massif of the Phnom Kulen National Park, Siem Reap Province, in the lowlands of northwestern Cambodia. A phylogenetic analysis from a short read (275 base pairs) of the mitochondrial gene NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 (ND2) from C. kulenensis sp. nov. was aligned with 1449 base pairs from all other species in the intermedius group.  The analysis recovered C. kulenensis sp. nov. as the sister species to a lineage composed of populations from the widely separated hilly regions of Sa Keao and Sakaerat in eastern Thailand. Multivariate (PCA, DAPC, and MFA) and univariate analyses (ANOVA) using combinations of meristic (scale counts), mensural (morphometric), and categorical (color pattern and morphology) characters from 52 specimens encompassing all species of the intermedius group clearly demonstrate C. kulenensis sp. nov. is significantly different and discretely diagnosable from all other species in the intermedius group. This new discovery further highlights the herpetological diversity and high levels of range-restricted endemism in basin-habitat-island landscapes throughout Indochina and the continued need for field work in the landscapes that remain unsurveyed. 


Author(s):  
Javier Sánchez Sánchez ◽  
José Aguilar Maldonado ◽  
Karem Barreno Haro

Keratocyst is a benign odontogenic lesion with aggressive behavior, probably derived from the dental lamina. It is frequently located in the posterior part of the mandibular bone in the area of ​​the third molar, mandibular angle and can progress towards the ramus and the body, presenting a direct association with retained dental organs. There is a wide variety of techniques for the treatment of this lesion, such as decompression, marsupialization, enucleation, and en bloc resection, as well as the combination of these with adjuvant methods. The interest in this lesion stems from its high recurrence rate, which is estimated to be 20-30% in the general population, however, at present the use of conservative treatments such as marsupialization and decompression has been chosen. demonstrated greater effectiveness and less recurrence. This is why after treating the lesions it is important to give a long-term follow-up. The objective of the publication is to present the report of a clinical case of a 21-year-old male patient with a diagnosis of odontogenic keratocyst treated with a decompression technique for five months for subsequent surgical enucleation. It has been proven that decompression treatment followed by enucleation and accompanied by adjuvant methods is an adequate therapeutic management for keratocysts as it demonstrates its lower rate of recurrence and its noble behavior with neighboring vital structures. However, in all cases, regular monitoring should be carried out to prevent recurrence of the lesion.


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